Press Release: The Hawaii State Department of Education is seeking feedback on the first draft of a 2030 Promise Plan, which will guide the Department for the next decade, centered around five promises to students. Hawaii Department of Education.

Community resources and step-by-step toolkit to support community groups to collectively add their input through August 1. Department of Education.

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Bill Passes Decriminalizing Marijuana In Hawaii. House Bill 1383 decriminalizes the possession of three grams or less of marijuana, but Governor David Ige is taking a cautious tone in response to the legislation. Big Island Video News.

Hotels urge Ige to veto vacation rental taxation bill. The American Hotel & Lodging Association along with heads of more than 10 Hawaii hotel companies are urging Gov. David Ige to veto Senate Bill 1292, which would authorize vacation rental platforms such as Airbnb to collect taxes on behalf of the state. Star-Advertiser.

Federal investigations of Hawaii institutions ‘unprecedented’. The number and breadth of current federal investigations into alleged corruption at Hawaii’s public institutions is unmatched in the state’s history, according to about a dozen former investigators, prosecutors, judges and others who have spent decades working in, documenting or observing the law enforcement arena in the islands. Star-Advertiser.

Another state agency spent thousands on tasers. Four years later, they remain unused. Back in 2015, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources paid more than $72,000 to buy 30 tasers. But four years later, none of the tasers have been deployed and are now gathering dust in the Land Board’s armory in Pearl City. Hawaii News Now.

Tulsi Gabbard: The Media Is Ignoring Me. The Hawaii congresswoman is known for refusing media interviews and dodging debates yet she now says she’s being ignored. Civil Beat.Oahu

Kawananakoa says she’s fine, should control her own money. Abigail Kawananakoa insists she has a sound mind and is capable of making decisions about her own $215 million estate. Star-Advertiser.

FTA insists Honolulu step up its funding of rail. The Federal Transit Administration is insisting the city contribute more money in the near term to help finance construction of the Honolulu rail project before it will release any of the $744 million in federal funding it has withheld from the project, according to an FTA spokeswoman. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Journalists Named As Witnesses In Kealoha Corruption Trial. Dozens of police officers and other former officials, including the past head of the Honolulu Ethics Commission, are set to testify as well. Civil Beat.

Vacation rentals' fates hang in the balance. No more vacation rentals in your neighborhood? That's one of two bills being considered by the City Council -- that could drastically change Hawaii's vacation rental industry. KHON2.

‘Save Sherwood Forest’: Anger Grows Over Planned Sports Complex. Honolulu’s $32 million plan to clear out part of Waimanalo Bay Beach Park for new ball fields and parking has run into furious opposition. Civil Beat.

Kamehameha Schools, partners to develop farm. Kamehameha Schools has partnered with a pair of Oregon agriculture investment and management firms to establish a more than 200-acre farm on Oahu’s North Shore. Star-Advertiser.

Dead Halawa Correctional Facility employee suspected of child sex assault. The Halawa Correctional Facility employee found dead Monday was scheduled for arraignment in Honolulu District Court this morning on charges of sexual assault of a young girl. Star-Advertiser.

State contracts Wahiawa hospital for mental health, drug abuse patients. The state Department of Health is contracting with Wahiawa General Hospital to use up to 30 beds by next year for mental health and substance abuse patients. Star-Advertiser.

Foodland to close Beretania Street store after nearly 70 years. The store’s 73 employees will be offered positions at other Oahu locations. Star-Advertiser.

Commentary: Kakaako Homeless Population Grows While City And State Dither Over Land Transfer. The state is in the process of signing the area over to the city but the deal is taking longer to work out. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

State steps in, helps recoup $6.9M federal transit funds. Some $6.9 million in federal funds has been freed up for Hawaii County buses and Mass Transit operations following state intervention in a county paperwork breakdown. West Hawaii Today.

The Hawaii County Mass Transit administrator, under pressure to fix a difficult situation, was joined by state transportation officials at a County Council committee meeting on Tuesday. Big Island Video News.

A bill that allows landowners to remove albizia trees from adjacent properties has become law and will take effect in July. Senate Bill 464 became law without the signature of Gov. David Ige on April 22 and allows homeowners to take action to remove potentially dangerous albizia trees on adjacent properties. Tribune-Herald.

Greenwell Garden could reopen this summer. More than three years after Bishop Museum closed the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden to the public, the nonprofit that has helped care for the site is aiming to welcome people back this summer. West Hawaii Today.

South Kona transfer station still not accepting green waste. It’s been more than six weeks since the Department of Environmental Management stopped accepting green waste at the Keei Transfer Station in South Kona, and it doesn’t appear ready to re-open for such business anytime soon. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Napili Point II condo reaches settlement on shoreline access. Trail to bay to be restored with no restrictions on hours of useShoreline access to Honokeana Bay through “Fisherman’s Trail” will be restored as part of a settlement involving the Napili Point II condominium. Maui News.

A&B puts ag land sale proceeds to commercial projects. Company closed last 800 acres in first quarter. Maui News.

Seven Maui Schools Serving Poi. For the first time, seven Maui County schools are serving poi through the Aina Pono Program including Kilohana Elementary, Maui High School, Kula Elementary, Lahainaluna High School, King Kekaulike High School, Kahului Elementary and Waihee Elementary. Maui Now.

Kauai

Kauai Gets A Residential Drug Treatment Facility For First Time In Decades. The eight-bedroom Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center in Kapaia was first proposed in 2003. Civil Beat.

Nancy Long new medical director for Kauai Hospice. For the first time since its grassroots beginning in 1983, Kauai Hospice has its first full-time medical director. Garden Island.

About Me

Nancy Cook Lauer has more than 25 years experience as a journalist, winning national and state awards for newspapers in Florida and Hawaii. She publishes a daily state government news aggregate and commentary blog, All Hawaii News. Vice President of the Hawaii SPJ chapter as well as former president of the Big Island Press Club, Lauer has a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Old Dominion University. She earned her reporting chops covering the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election at Florida's ground zero and was recently honored with a Torch of Light award and a Hawaii state Senate commendation for uncovering questionable spending practices in local government.

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